2026
In Huron County, intensive agricultural operations heavily dominate the landscape, making large, unbroken green spaces exceptionally rare. The Hullett Wildlife Management Area (Hullett Marsh) represents a vital regional conservation space, spanning 5,400 acres of diverse wetlands, open fields, and mature forests that serve as one of the last remaining high-quality inland refuges for vulnerable wildlife in the county.
Strategically positioned at the confluence of both the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways, Hullett carries a disproportionate ecological significance, supporting immense numbers of birds during migration while simultaneously providing irreplaceable local breeding grounds.
Despite its value, the ecological integrity of Hullett Marsh is threatened by non-native, woody invasive shrubs, most notably Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) and Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica).
These species aggressively colonize open areas and edge environments, creating impenetrable, dense, thorny monocultures that alter soil dynamics, and displace native flora and fauna.
The loss of open spaces is directly tied to declines of several high-priority avian species that cannot persist where heavy woody invasive pressure exists. The American Woodcock (Scolopax minor), Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus), and Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) are crepuscular or nocturnal insectivores and ground-nesters that require open corridors, fields, and low-canopy edges for clear sightlines during courtship displays and foraging flights. The Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) requires open, savannah-like woodlands with clear understories to flycatch and forage efficiently. The Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) relies exclusively on dynamic, transitional ecotones between open fields and young forest, a habitat matrix destroyed by uniform invasive brush.
Additionally, valued resident upland species like the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) are pushed out of these areas, as they require diverse, regenerating young forest and clearings rather than dense brush for effective brood-rearing cover and to locate drumming logs.
To combat this threat, Friends of Hullett are renting an industrial-grade commercial heavy mulcher to control these dense monocultures. This is a new management approach for the property; we aim to clear seven acres of invasive shrubs in 2026 and will continue into adjacent choked fields as time allows. This clearing however is only one part of effective habitat management. To scientifically evaluate the effectiveness of this technique and determine how well it achieves our long-term conservation goals, we must track exactly how target species use the managed areas over time.
This creates a need for an acoustic monitoring array. Because the target species are highly cryptic, heavily camouflaged, or exclusively active during late night and early dawn hours, traditional human-led point-count surveys are often ineffective and logistically difficult to complete. Acoustic monitoring offers continuous, synchronized, and non-invasive monitoring across multiple treated and control sites simultaneously, providing immediately useful data of avian activity. Acoustic monitoring provides repeatable, objective sampling that, when continued through subsequent seasons, will help us assess the long-term success of mulching as a management strategy at Hullett Marsh. Ultimately, this data will allow us to better address the threat of woody invasives for the benefit of birds across the property, and by extension, Huron County as a whole.
